{"id":1681,"date":"2015-10-14T20:04:10","date_gmt":"2015-10-14T20:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/?p=1681"},"modified":"2015-10-14T20:04:10","modified_gmt":"2015-10-14T20:04:10","slug":"5-ways-to-make-sure-starting-your-business-doesnt-end-your-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/5-ways-to-make-sure-starting-your-business-doesnt-end-your-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Ways to Make Sure Starting Your Business Doesn’t End Your Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"5<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\"Geoff<\/a><\/p>\n
GEOFF WOODS<\/div>\n
CONTRIBUTOR<\/div>\n
Host of The Mentee Podcast, Medical Device Salesman, Entrepreneur, Real Estate Investor<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Image credit: Shutterstock<\/a><\/div>\n<\/header>\n

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If you knew that the birth of your company would also be the death of your marriage, would you still start your business?<\/p>\n

Most entrepreneurs have not considered this question as they begin the long road of building their businesses. As a result, their marriages often take a massive hit.\u00a0There is a reason for this.<\/p>\n

There is an abundance of information available on how to start a business. As a result you feel prepared for the amount of time that is going to be required, to face the rejection\u00a0and to push through when you feel like your back is up against the wall.<\/p>\n

However, there is very little information that prepares you for the toll it will take on your loved ones.\u00a0My goal in this column is to share my experience launching a business,\u00a0to get vulnerable and share the toll it has taken on my marriage.\u00a0You can listen to my wife\u2019s take on how this has affected our marriage below.<\/p>\n

Subscribe to The Mentee podcast on iTunes<\/a>\u00a0and Stitcher Radio<\/a>.<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n

Related:\u00a0Becoming an Entrepreneur Takes Courage, But Marrying One Is Even Braver<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are five\u00a0ways you can make sure starting your business doesn\u2019t end your marriage:<\/p>\n

1. Share your vision.<\/h2>\n

Sit down with your spouse and share your vision with him or her. Help him or her understand why you feel compelled to start this company and what the future will look like when you are successful.\u00a0Your goal here is to make sure your spouse is tied to your vision. This will be vital when you are less available and there is added stress on the relationship.<\/p>\n

2. Set realistic expectations.<\/h2>\n

This is where you cannot hold back. You have to help them understand what the road ahead looks like.<\/p>\n

Will you have to cut back on your spending to underwrite this venture?\u00a0Will your weekends suddenly be filled with more work and less play?\u00a0Will they be going to sleep and waking up alone since you will be burning the candle at both ends trying to get the\u00a0company off the ground?<\/p>\n

Paint a picture of what lies ahead and make sure they are prepared and agree with you moving forward.<\/p>\n

3. Set a weekly meeting.<\/h2>\n

If you were to look at your calendar right now, I bet you would find a number of appointments scheduled with customers.\u00a0While meeting with these people are important, most people do not have scheduled appointments with the most important person in their lives: their spouses.<\/p>\n

As I scaled my podcast, The Mentee, into a business<\/a>, my days were long and I did not block any time for my family. This was catastrophic to my relationship with my wife.\u00a0I then had a conversation with John Assaraf<\/a>, who helped me change the way I looked at my relationship with my wife.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a04 Tips for Workaholic Entrepreneurs to Avoid a Crumbling Marriage<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

I sought out his mentorship because he has a thriving business and a thriving marriage and I wanted to know what his secrets were.\u00a0He told me that he and Maria have a standing 90-minute meeting every Saturday to discuss their relationship, where they get everything out on the table: finances, business, sex, God, children, ex-wives — nothing gets left unsaid.<\/p>\n

Amy and I started to implement these and have found that truly investing in your relationship each week has a tremendous effect on your ability to be the best partner possible.<\/p>\n

When you speak with your spouse, pull out your calendars and schedule a meeting for this week. Then, post in the comments below the power this had on your relationship so you can inspire others to do the same.<\/p>\n

4. Remember, you\u2019re in the same boat.<\/h2>\n

While a weekly meeting will work wonders for your relationship, there will still be times when you your spouse is frustrated at your lack of presence and a fight ensues.<\/p>\n

In that moment, recognize that you\u2019re in the same boat and need to be paddling in the same direction.\u00a0Instead of saying \u201cScrew you! Do you know how hard I\u2019m working?\u201d take a step back and recognize he or she\u00a0is asking you to jump. Your response needs to be \u201cHow high?\u201d<\/p>\n

The faster you adopt a mindset that there is enough time in a day and \u201chow can I go above and beyond to support you,\u201d\u00a0you will find an abundance of support flowing back to you.\u00a0Try this. It really does work!<\/p>\n

5. Celebrate small wins together.<\/h2>\n

When you accomplish small milestones along the way, make sure you celebrate and give credit where credit is due.\u00a0You would not be able to launch your business and maintain your sanity if your other half was not supporting you.\u00a0This is their win just as much as it is yours. Make sure they feel that way!<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, remember why you are going down this road. If you are like many of the entrepreneurs, it is because you want to provide a better life for your family and make a difference.\u00a0If you implement what you\u2019ve read here today, it could truly help your marriage. If that\u2019s the case, this time could be one of the best investments you ever make.<\/p>\n

Related:\u00a04 Essentials for Being in Business Happily Ever After With Your Spouse<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

GEOFF WOODS CONTRIBUTOR Host of The Mentee Podcast, Medical Device Salesman, Entrepreneur, Real Estate Investor Image credit: Shutterstock October 14, 2015 If you knew that the birth of your company would also be the death of your marriage, would you still start your business? Most entrepreneurs have not considered this question as they begin the … Continue reading 5 Ways to Make Sure Starting Your Business Doesn’t End Your Marriage<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-startups","pmpro-has-access"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4MGMb-r7","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1681"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1682,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1681\/revisions\/1682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/leadershipshape.com\/wardroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}